


Of Knights and Dragons

by CupCakezys



Series: Undertale Stories [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Also brief war mention, But its only briefly talked about and is nothing graphic, Dragon Sans - Freeform, Knight in training Papyrus, Monsters and humans get along just fine, Papyrus and Sans aren't related, Permanent Injury, Short Story, There was never a war, Undertale Medieval AU, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, in the form of refugees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 09:14:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13610217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupCakezys/pseuds/CupCakezys
Summary: When a dragon is reported terrorising innocent travellers from a tower no one dares to go confront it, for everyone knows how strong and ruthless an angered dragon can be.No one, that is, except The Great Papyrus, Knight in training and the perfect skeleton to help this dragon back on the right path. He would do it, no matter how everyone seemed to think he'd fail!





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> So I know I have like three other things I should be finishing but this little idea wouldn't leave me alone. Before I knew it I was writing, and then it got a little longer than planned, so I split it in two.  
> Second part should be up tomorrow, enjoy.  
> Read on my Tumblr: here

Papyrus was not a skeleton that backed down from a challenge. Nor was he someone who ignored another he thought needed help. It was also his job, as knight in training, to aid those in need, protect the innocent and help the not-so-innocent back onto the right path.  
So, when he heard there was a dragon terrorising people atop a tower, of course he volunteered to go!  
His fellow knights didn't believe him when he said he'd guide the dragon on a better path, one not full of scaring friendly passers-by, but he was determined. Even his great friend and Captain, Undyne, could not change his mind.  
So, with a small pack on his back filled with essentials, Papyrus started his journey to find and calm a dragon.  
The tower the frightened farmers and travellers had passed was only a three hours hike from the Knights Barracks at the castle, so Papyrus decided against bringing a horse. The exercise would be good for him! Even if he already got enough exercise, there was nothing wrong with more.  
After all, since he was granted the title of knight-to-be, he spent all his time training and exploring the city. Not that there was much to explore, Papyrus knew every side alley and road of the slums by the age of six.  
That was the only real way to survive as an orphan on the streets, but it left for rather boring adventures.  
Now, however, he knew how to defend himself. No longer was he confined to the dirty roads of the lower rings of Novicasa, but instead the whole city and beyond was his to explore.  
With a cheerful hop in his step Papyrus waved to the guards as they closed the gates behind him. The dog couple waved back before they disappeared behind the doors.  
The skeleton turned from the city, humming an old bar song under his breath as he started walking. His sword swung on his hip as he walked, the familiar feeling comforting.  
Thick trees lined the dirt path he followed, the Deep Woods surrounding him the further away from Novicasa he got. He dared not stray from the path, stories of monsters and humans alike becoming lost in the Woods and disappearing forever reigning in his curiosity.  
Papyrus passed a few travellers as he walked, as well as a group of refugees making their way from their war-torn country. He stopped and offered to share his food and water, to which they gratefully, if hesitantly, accepted.  
While skeletons are very cool indeed, fleshy people's skeletons shouldn't be visible!  
Exactly three hours and ten minutes after setting out from Novicasa, Papyrus finally arrived at the alleged home of the terrifying dragon.  
It was an old castle, most of it ruins hidden under many layers of moss and earth. Two towers were all that remained, reaching high into the sky.  
One tower was covered in vines, a door way only just visible through the green. The other tower, however, was devoid of life and completely blackened. The ground around it was scorched, the grass growing near it brown and brittle.  
Magic hummed uneasily through Papyrus’s bones as he shifted in place. He would admit that the sight made him slightly nervous, but he was The Great Papyrus, Knight in Training and the Best Skeleton Friend anyone could have!  
He would give this dragon a firm scolding about their dangerous behaviour, and then show them how to live their life not scaring innocent travellers.  
With a determined nod, Papyrus stepped forward.  
The second his boot crunched against the blackened grass something shifted above him. His body stiffened, his hand immediately gripping the sword handle at his hip. His head craned back, sockets searching for the dragon at the top of the scorched tower.  
A small stone hit the ground to his left, and suddenly a face poked out over the edge of the tower roof.  
Papyrus blinked in surprise, his body jerking back at the sight of the dragon above him. Their face was round, almost chubby, and the claws he could see gripping the tower roof looked sharper than his sword. Jagged fangs extended from their mouth, and the beginnings of horns peeked from the top of their head.  
The thing that caused Papyrus’s reaction, however, was the fact that this dragon looked to be completely made out of bones.  
A huge grin pulled at his teeth, and he bounced excitedly in place. His surprise and nerves were forgotten as his mind travelled a mile a minute, imagining all the things he could do with another skeleton around!  
Even if said skeleton was a dragon.  
It mattered not! He was now more determined than ever to befriend this dragon. Being a skeleton, they were obviously a monster with high standards, just like himself, so he would have to work twice as hard to earn their trust and friendship.  
He stepped forward, sockets trained on the small eye lights he could see staring straight at him.  
“HELLO DRAGON! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, KNIGHT IN TRAINING AT THE CITY OF NOVICASA AND THE BEST SKELETON FRIEND ANYONE COULD HAVE.” Papyrus ignored the fact that before now he was the only skeleton monster he knew of. The dragon seemed to perk up at his booming voice, their eye lights growing and head tilting to the side. “I HAVE COME TO REQUEST YOU PLEASE STOP SCARING THE TRAVELLERS PASSING BY YOUR TOWER. IT IS CAUSING A GREAT DEAL OF UNREST AMONGST THE PEOPLE OF NOVICASA.”  
Papyrus heard a loud whine, followed by a roar. He instinctively reached for his sword, fingers wrapping loosely around the hilt.  
“PLEASE, THAT IS NO WAY TO RESPOND TO A POLIET REQUEST!”  
The dragon stared at him, their claws gripping the side of the tower underneath them. Rocks fell, the brick threatening to crumble, and they pulled back with another roar and a blast of fire into the sky above them. Small rocks fell from the sky, landing next to the tower in front of him.  
Papyrus tilted his head back, moving back a few steps to get a clearer view of the dragon. As soon as they saw him back up they whined, lunging forward and only barely stopping themself from falling with a very high pitched yelp.  
Papyrus’s sockets widened in understanding. “DO YOU NEED HELP IN GETTING DOWN?”  
The dragons eye lights focused on him, another desperate while rolling from their chest.  
Papyrus nodded, striking a pose as his cape flared dramatically behind him. “WORRY NOT, DRAGON FRIEND! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL HELP YOU GET DOWN!”  
The dragon practically bounced on their tower, their tail whipping around in excitement. They reminded Papyrus of the dog couple after he’d given them their daily dosage of pets.  
He turned on the spot, a hand on his chin in thought. How was he supposed to help the other down? There was no way he could climb up and carry them down, and the tower seemed too strong to knock down. His sockets scanned the woods, before lighting up with an idea.  
He whirled back around to the dragon, who was staring at him curiously. “WAIT RIGHT HERE! I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA THAT MIGHT WORK.”  
With that he ran to the outskirts of the woods, carefully keeping one socket on the tower while the other looked for the perfect tree.


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that. I hope you enjoyed this little dabble.  
> Thanks for reading guys!  
> Again, on Tumblr here if you prefer.  
> (I might do more of this if I ever get any motivation. We'll see.)

It took him a few minutes, but finally he found what he was looking for. With a triumphed cry he rushed forward, circling the giant tree. It looked tall enough to reach at least near the top of the tower. The dragon should be able to leap onto it, and then walk along the trunk from there.  
He fingered the blade at his waist, then shook his head. Magic hummed in his bones as he summoned a bone construct, sharpened and shaped like an axe. He gave one experimental swing, then began striking the giant tree.  
It took him a lot longer than he would have liked to fell the tree, but eventually he reached about three quarters of the way through. The tree was tilted dangerously, very obviously close to falling. Papyrus kicked it as hard as he could and danced out of the way as it began to fall.  
Blue magic caught it before it could hit the ground, and then released it onto a row of bones laying flat. Papyrus panted for a moment, not expecting the tree to be so heavy. Then he straightened, reminded of his new friend waiting for him.  
He stood behind the tree, once again grabbed it with his blue magic, and began to push.  
It rolled across the bones below it easily, new ones rising under it whenever the log risked crashing to the ground. It took all of Papyrus’s concentration and incredible magic skill to push the log to the dragons tower, but finally he managed it.  
The dragon greeted him with a blast of fire and a happy roar. Papyrus grunted and waved, before focusing on the task at hand.  
Carefully he lifted one end of the felled tree, raising it as far as he could make it go without it being too steep to walk down. The dragon eyed him curiously as he speared the tree with a few bones, holding it to the tower and the ground.  
“ALRIGHT DRAGON FRIEND, NOW CLIMB DOWN THE TREE!”  
The dragon stared at him blankly for a moment, then eyed the tree suspiciously. They sniffed at it, tentatively resting one claw on the wood before jerking back. They whined, staring at him with saddened eye lights.  
“COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU DRAGON! JUST TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME. I PROMISE I’LL HOLD THE TREE STILL FOR YOU!” Papyrus beckoned with his hands, gesturing to the grass beside him. “YOU DON’T WANT TO BE STUCK UP THERE FOREVER DO YOU?”  
That seemed to change the dragons mind, as they reached out with their front claw again. They pressed down, looking surprised when the wood didn’t give.  
“THAT’S IT! YOU CAN DO IT!”  
They glanced at him, then the tree, then the ground. Their sockets narrowed, eye lights becoming slits, and they placed another claw on the tree.  
It took a while, but with Papyrus’s constant encouragement and the promise of stable land the dragon eventually made it back to the ground.  
“YOU DID IT!” Papyrus cheered, smiling as the dragon ran their claws through the grass. “I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!”  
The dragon focused on him, and a distinctively male voice speaks in his mind. “thank you.”  
Papyrus startles, nearly falling backwards in shock. “OH! I DIDN’T THINK YOU COULD TALK!”  
A deep chuckle rumbles from the dragon’s ribcage. “most dragons don’t talk to your kind.”  
Papyrus nods, sitting down carefully on the ground. “IS THAT WHY YOU DIDN’T ASK SOMEONE FOR HELP?”  
The dragon studies him for a moment before laying down in front of him. “nah. i did try, it’s just no one could hear me. i’m not exactly the loudest dragon ever.”  
“SO YOU TRIED TO GAIN SOMEONES ATTENTION BY ROARING AND BREATHING FIRE AT THEM?” The dragon nods, causing Papyrus to give an over-exaggerated sigh. “THAT WAS A TERRIBLE PLAN. YOU JUST SCARED THEM ALL AWAY!”  
A blue flush creeped over the dragon’s face. “well, to be fair, at first i was just trying to scare them away. Then I realised I was stuck and kinda panicked.”  
Papyrus resisted dropping his head into his hands. “THAT IS NOT THE PROPER WAY TO ACT! YOU CAN’T JUST SCARE INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR NO REASON!”  
The dragon snorted, and lazily rolled on the ground, his skeletal wings running through the grass. There was a barely-there blue tinge of magic in the space between each bone on his wings.  
“what would you suggest i do next time then?”  
Papyrus stared at the upside down skull and suddenly launched to his feet. The dragon rolled over, carefully eyeing him from his position on the floor. Papyrus planted one foot on a nearby rock, one hand pressed to his chest and the other resting on his hip as his cape fluttered behind him in non-existent wind.  
“I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED! NOW, AS A DRAGON YOUR SIZE MAY INTIMIDATE SOME SOULS, BUT FEAR NOT! IF YOU SHOW THEM YOU ARE NOT A THREAT AND GIVE THEM COMPLIMENTS, THEY ARE SURE TO REALISE HOW NON-SCARY YOU ARE!”  
The dragon stared at him, sockets blinking slowly shut before he dissolved into chuckles. Papyrus dropped his dramatic pose, certain his message had gotten across. He shifted his bag on his shoulder, touched the sword on his hip and then returned his attention back to the dragon.  
He had finally stopped laughing, only the occasional chuckle falling from his mouth. He looked up at Papyrus and grinned.  
“the name’s sans. what’s yours?”  
Papyrus beamed back at him. “MY NAME IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT YOU, JUST LIKE ALL MY OTHER MANY FRIENDS, MAY CALL ME PAPYRUS.”  
Sans nodded, his wings extending to the sky as he stretched. “thank you for getting me down off that tower papyrus. i was worried i’d have my head stuck in the clouds forever.”  
Papyrus nodded. “YOU’RE VERY WELCOME SANS. NOW, WHILE IT WAS WONDERFUL MEETING YOU, I’M AFRAID I MUST BE GOING. IT’S A THREE HOUR WALK HOME, AND I DO NOT WISH TO BE LATE IN STARTING DINNER.”  
“oh.” Something flashed in Sans’ eye lights, and his body seemed to wilt as he glared hard at the ground. “of course. you can’t stick around here forever.”  
Papyrus paused for a moment, watching as Sans hauled himself to his feet and dragged himself back over to the tower. He settled underneath the tree still lodged into the side of the tower, circling twice before he curled up. His tail covered his sockets as they closed.  
He fiddled with his cape for a second before walking up to his new friend. “DO YOU HAVE A HOME TO RETURN TO?”  
Sans huffed, unmoving. “not one I can reach now.”  
One of his wings unfurled, revealing a deep tear through the blue magic between his wing bones. Papyrus gasped, immediately wanting to jerk forward and heal him. His hands twitches at his side as he held back. There was nothing he could do.  
“there was a flagpole attached to that tower.” The wing pointed a little to their left, where Papyrus could spot a long metal pole sticking out of the ground. “nearly tore my wing off when i crashed into it. it might as well have, not like i can fly anymore anyway.”  
Silent tears fell from Papyrus’s sockets, his soul welling with pain and sympathy. “Sans-”  
“please just-! just go. i’m useless like this, i know.” A hate-filled laugh fell from his mouth. “a downed dragon is a dead dragon, after all.”  
Papyrus shook his head vehemently. “THAT’S NOT TRUE!”  
Sans jerked, his tail moving from his sockets to reveal empty eye lights. His entire body stiffened at the sight of the crying skeleton.  
“THAT’S NOT TRUE AT ALL! YOU’RE NOT DEAD, YOU’RE PERFECTLY ALIVE AND WELL. AND YOU’RE NOT STUCK ON A TOWER ANYMORE! YOU’RE ALREADY DOJNG MUCH BETTER THEN YOU WERE A FEW MINUTES AGO.” Fresh tears fell from his sockets. “AND LIVING ON THE GROUND ISN’T THAT BAD! I’VE BEEN DOING IT ALL MY LIFE!”  
Sans chuckled, but the sound was strained and he was shaking his head. “you don’t get it.”  
“YES I DO!” Papyrus huffed and sat down next to the other. “You Lost A Part Of Yourself, And You Don’t Know If You’ll Ever Get It Back. And That’s Terrifying. But I Know You Can Keep Going. Even If It Is Scary, Or It Seems Pointless, I Know You Can Keep Trying.”  
Sans stared at him for a long time, visibly thinking over his words. The beginnings of tears were in his own sockets, but the dragon didn’t let them fall. Instead he ducked his head and tried to hide with his claws.  
Papyrus saw the slight shaking of the dragon’s shoulders, heard his muffled sobs, and without a thought he wrapped his arms around the other’s neck. Sans pressed into him, letting his fear and loss flow over and out of him.  
When Sans pulled back he offered only a fleeting smile and small nod as his thanks. Papyrus smiled back and ran a hand over Sans’ skull, the bone smooth to the touch. Sans leaned into it, before pulling back completely.  
“IT REALLY IS GETTING LATE.” Papyrus dusted himself off as he stood, Sans watching him tiredly from the ground. “WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME HOME WITH ME?”  
Sans startled at the question. “are you serious? don’t you live in a city? wouldn’t everyone freak out if you walked in with a dragon behind you?”  
Papyrus huffed. “I LIVE IN NOVICASA, YES, AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IF ANYONE DOES FREAK OUT WE CAN PUT THEIR FEARS TO REST AT ONCE. BESIDES, MY HOUSE IS RIGHT NEXT TO THE FLOWER FIELDS. YOU’D HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM TO MOVE AROUND.”  
Sans considered this, and still looked uneasy even as he stood. “alright. I’ll go with you.”  
Papyrus cheered, starting down the road. “LET’S GO HOME!”  
Sans’ smile twitches as he followed the other skeleton. “let’s go home.”


End file.
